Time is a funny thing
by just a space duck
Summary: Trunks goes back in time after his planet was destroyed. He wants to settle down with his friends in the past but the shadow of the future is always one step behind.
1. Chapter 1

"_I've grown tired of these rules" Cell spat at Goku. They had been warming up for quite a while, but the ring and the rules that he had set were too limiting. He aimed his open palm towards the ring and blasted it away. _

_Videl and Erasa shrieked. The Cell games hadn't turned out the way they'd thought. Mr. Satan had been defeated in seconds. The man in the orange gi had stepped up and fought Cell with abilities that looked like magic. And now one of those magic attacks was heading straight towards them. Erasa closed her eyes, ready to meet her death, when she felt a violent rush of wind and an explosion in the background. _

_She opened her eyes to witness a giant plume of smoke coming out of the ground a few thousand meters in front of here. She blinked in confusion and saw that Cell was hovering high above the explosion, an impassive look on his face as he turned to face the golden haired warrior._

_It was then that Erasa noticed she hadn't touched the ground. In fact she was being held. Turning around to look at the person holding her, she met sapphire blue eyes and long lavender hair, the most handsome face she had ever seen._

"_Are you all right?" asked her purple angel in a slightly gravelly voice. Erasa felt weak in his arms._

"_Y-y-yes" she stuttered out. He smiled down at her and put her down. She wanted to say something to him, anything, but he flew off into the horizon. She turned to look at Videl, who was still in shock from having survived the explosion. Erasa shook her friend and Videl snapped out of it. The two of them ran down the side of the mountain they had been left on, they'd go and find Mr. Satan._

Erasa's eyes fluttered open. She groaned and stretched. She'd had that dream again, a memory that turned itself into a dream. It had been seven years before that day but she still remembered it like it was yesterday. The day of the Cell games, she and Videl had been knocked unconscious so they never got to see the conclusion of the fight between the spiky golden haired man and Cell. When they woke up everyone was clamoring about Mr. Satan's victory and the two girls had found themselves grounded for having gone into such a dangerous situation. Videl always wondered how her father had been able to pull it off. Now that the gold fighter and Saiyaman were doing things similar to that man seven years ago appeared in the city, Videl was in full on detective mode.

Erasa bathed and got dressed, eating a quick breakfast along the way. She lived in a small apartment with her mother, not the most expensive place but cozy and warm. This was the last week of school before the World Martial Arts Tournament; when they'd get days off to attend or watch it. Videl had taken time off school a week ago to train, which wasn't surprising, what was surprising was that Gohan had also taken time off. Sharpner had grumbled about the implications of both of them taking time off, Erasa couldn't help but hope it was true, the two of them would look so cute together.

* * *

Trunks jumped into his time machine, adamant to escape the monster before he destroyed the planet and took him along for the ride. He was in part ashamed to be running away from a fight, but the bastard had proven to be too much for him. His mother was cramped in next to him in the time machine, unconscious and unknowing that she would never see her world again. Just before the maniac known as Brolly unleashed a blast that would destroy the entire galaxy, Trunks pressed a button in his time machine and was sent careening into the past of an alternate timeline.

An instant later, a bright light consumed the earth; it expanded slowly at first, stopped for a second at the outer rim of the solar system, and then surged out in a sudden burst that coursed outwards at faster than light speeds.

North Galaxy #2202 completely destroyed in three seconds.

At the epicenter of the blast, a saiyan looked around, unsatisfied. He'd sensed the boys escape seconds before the explosion, he could not allow that.

* * *

"Now try to push that energy under you" Gohan coached. Videl had a look of concentration as she glared at her feet, willing them to push off the ground. A trickle of sweat dribbled down her forehead she'd spent the last four hours and all last week at the Son household, learning to manipulate her ki. Goten was flying around them like a bird, frustrating Videl even more than she already was.

Videl was slightly startled when Gohan put a hand on her shoulder.

"You need to relax Videl. You won't be able to connect with your ki if you're this tense" Gohan said calmly. Videl narrowed her eyes and tried to calm her blush at being this close to the raven haired teen.

"Your little brother didn't have any trouble learning how to do it" she said with a pout.

"Yeah but he's been using his ki all his life. You're still new to this" he gave her a congenial grin "Don't worry, you'll get it eventually"

Videl sighed. She couldn't stay angry when he had a goofy smile. She looked up at him and met his eyes, flushing with weird feeling she couldn't help but explain. Gohan stared back down at her and they seemed to be getting imperceptibly closer each second, almost as if drawn together by a magnet. Without noticing Videl was fluttering her eyes closed, licking her lips in preparation for what was to come.

Gohan didn't know why he was doing this, but he lowered his head to meet the Satan girls lips, moving his arms to wrap around her waist. Just before the moment congealed he felt a buzzing in his head and he snapped to attention.

"Do you feel that big brother?" Goten yelled at him from above. Gohan nodded and Videl was left with a ruined moment, blinking her eyes and slowly getting angry with the idiot Son boy. Before she could give him a piece of her mind Gohan had picked her up by the waist and floated into the air.

"HEY WHAT GIVES YOU ASSHOLE!" Videl yelled at him.

"We need to get to Capsule Corp Videl, the fastest way there is to fly" he told her.

"Capsule Corp? Why would we go th-" Videl was cut off as Gohan flew off in the direction of CC. The aura of ki that surrounded him also protected Videl from the effects of such high speeds, though he did have to slow down for Goten to keep up, the little tyke still didn't have a full handle on flight.

They arrived at the Capsule Corp lawn in record time. Gohan dropped Videl off on the grass and she almost collapsed on the spot for the lightheadedness she felt. She refocused her mind and couldn't believe she was actually inside the Capsule Corp property, not even her father with his endless popularity had ever gotten an invitation to the building.

Trunks exited the time machine, pulling his mother out. The time machine stood proud for a few seconds before crumbling into dust, it had taken the back end of Brolly's blast and barely survived long enough to bring Trunks and Bulma into the past.

"Trunks! It is you!" Gohan exclaimed at the young man who was carrying his mother on his shoulders. Goten looked confused. This man did look a lot like Trunks, but Trunks was his age. Maybe they where cousins.

Trunks gave Gohan a sad smile. His eyes turned to Goten and Videl and he looked back at Gohan questioningly. At that moment the Briefs family was exiting the main CC building to see the commotion.

Gohan noticed Trunks silent question and grinned. "This is my little brother Goten and my friend Videl"

"He looks just like Goku" Trunks said in awe.

"What are you doing here boy?" Vegeta butted in. Chibi Trunks was staring open mouthed at his future self. Bulma noticed the person that looked suspiciously like her on Trunks' should and eeped in surprise. Videl switched between the world famous Briefs family to the young man that looked like an older clone of Bulma's son.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked.

"I knew you weren't telling me everything!" Videl yelled at Gohan. The Son boy rubbed the back of his head.

"I was going to tell you eventually! I just needed time!" he said defensively.

"First saiyaman and now aliens! You're a big fat liar Son Gohan!" Videl roared with even more anger. Piccolo showing up hadn't even been the tip of the iceberg for weird events and revelations.

"Shut your woman up boy." Vegeta stated matter of factly, making both Gohan and Videl blush and stutter in denial. Trunks chuckled silently; he never thought he'd see Gohan with a girlfriend. At that moment Bulma came into the room.

"My future self is all right; she's got no serious injuries and should wake up in a few hours." she said while removing her gloves. Chibi Trunks was strapped to his future self's side, happy to have a cooler big brother than Goten.

"So do you think we should worry about this Brolly guy showing up here?" Gohan changed the subject.

Vegeta shook his head. "There are differences in the timeline. I remember an abnormally powerful brat named Brolly and my father cutting his head off. It was the day our planet was destroyed" he said matter-of-factly. Videl's eyes bugged out at the mention of planet and killing so casually. She felt a migraine coming on.

"Come here Videl, there's still one more thing I need to tell you" Gohan pointer her towards a different sitting room. He might as well come out with all of it.

"So Trunks, thinking of signing up for the tournament?" Bulma asked her alternate son.

* * *

It was the day of the Worlds Martial Arts Tournament. Trunks and Bulma had settled into the past rather nicely. It was funny to see the dynamic of the two Bulma's. They acted like sisters and an echo chamber to rile up anger at Vegeta's crap. Mirai Bulma knew she couldn't have what this Bulma had with Vegeta, so she decided to take some pleasure in helping her other self get angry at the prince's arrogance. It had been very therapeutic, after she cried her eyes out, for her to see the earth and all her friends alive and happy.

The z-entourage, which included Videl, had reunited with Goku a few minutes earlier, giving the moment an even more jovial tone as everyone joked around happily. Even Vegeta was challenging Goku more in good nature than usual.

"The three of us could beat the three of you easy Goten" Trunks spat at his friend.

"Nu-uh, my dad and Gohan are way better than Trunks and your dad, we'd win real easy" Goten retorted.

"Hn, my dad is better than your by default! He isn't dead" was Trunks' less than tactful answer. Goten stuck his tongue out at Trunks and they were ready to get into a scuffle.

"Knock it you two" Piccolo broke them up. "You can beat each other up at the junior tournament"

Chibi Trunks crossed his arms and pouted. "It's not fair that they have a kids division. I'm too mature for that!"

Videl tugged at Gohan's arm. She'd been staying with the Sons ever since her father's lie had been revealed. She didn't think she could look him in the eye any time soon.

"Come on Gohan, I promised Erasa we'd meet up with her before the tournament, you can change into your Saiyaman costume later" Gohan nodded and tried to ignore the wolf-whistles from Yamcha and Krillin.

"Can Trunks go along with you?" Mirai Bulma asked them. "The poor boy has never had the chance to interact with people his own age" Trunks blushed in embarrassment but was cut off by Bulma before he could talk.

"Oh that's a great idea. Poor Trunks you need to learn to live your life. Go with them and maybe get yourself a girlfriend" at this last comment Mirai Bulma's eyes lit up and she practically shoved her son at Videl and Gohan.

Videl shrugged and nodded to them both to come along, weaving through the crowd to were Erasa and Sharpner would be.

The two blondes were at a souvenir stand, Sharpner flirting with the employee and failing miserably. As the Videl approached with the two demi-saiyans realization hit her. Trunks had been the one that had saved Erasa all those years ago at the Cell games, the person Erasa dreamed about often. She couldn't hide her smirk; hopefully Erasa would be put in awkward situation for a change.

Erasa saw Videl coming from afar and waved. Sharpner growled at Gohan being with her, he'd heard about Videl staying with the Son's but had been in denial for a while. The idea of that wimp getting near his property was maddening.

Trunks was walking behind the other two, hands in his jacket looking around. He'd never been in a place like this, full of people walking around without a care in the world. Even after the androids and Cell his planet had never even come close to the stage were something like this could happen. He vowed that this earth would not share the fate of his for as long as he drew breath.

"Hey Videl! How was your vacation?" Erasa winked and Videl blushed slightly, which made Sharpner narrow his eyes. Hopefully the other person coming with them would save Videl from any further teasing.

"Oh it was great; the mountains where Gohan lives are really refreshing for a city girl" Videl had a wide grin. Mt Paozo really was very beautiful; with air so clean you could almost taste the scent.

"Hn. I bet mountain boy had you hunting his food for him" Sharpner tried to put in. He was being ignored and didn't like it.

Trunks hung around the back, not really knowing how to talk around people his age, when Gohan shifted aside and put his hand around his shoulder.

"Guys I'd like you to meet my friend Trunks" he said with a big grin. Sharpner looked Trunks over. He was definitely too built to be friends with such a wimp (Trunks had a fighting Gi on which didn't hide his muscles). His hair color was a bit unusual; reminded him of that old guy that they talked about in science class.

Trunks locked eyes with Erasa and felt a spark of recognition; this was the girl he'd saved at the Cell games, all grown up.

_Very Grown Up._ He thought as he looked her over, chastising himself after the fact.

Erasa for her part was frozen on the spot. It was him, there was no doubt. His hair was in a ponytail and was shorter than his shoulder-length locks but there was no questioning it. She didn't know how it was possible for Gohan to be friends with him; he'd have to be a good ten years older than them. She'd been hoping for this moment for the past seven years but deep inside she thought it'd never come.

She felt slightly weak, with no avail she fell forward. Trunks caught her in his arms on reflex and helped her stand up. Erasa's face was red in embarrassment though she didn't mind being in his arms.

"Nice move" Videl teased from the side making the blonde drop her head. Trunks hesitantly removed his hands from around her and silently wiped some nervous sweat from his hands. Erasa composed herself and smiled up at him.

"So, you're entering the tournament Trunks?" she asked while appraising his attire.

Trunks nodded "My father's going to compete and I want to beat him" this was a white lie. He knew his father was stronger than him. Who he really wanted to test was Gohan as he knew he hadn't trained in these seven years and Trunks had had one whole year of constant training since then.

"Oh so you come from a fighting family?" she questioned with interest. Trunks nodded and they began a conversation, walking towards where the trials were being held and leaving the other three teens behind.

"That was quick" Videl commented to Gohan, who didn't quite get it.

"I need to go to the bathroom" he said while giving what he thought was a discrete nod. Videl almost laughed in his face but held it in as he left to change into his costume. Suddenly she realized she had been left alone with Sharpner.

"So…" the blonde trailed off, sidling closer to her. Videl rolled her eyes and started walking away.

"I need to get in line for the qualifiers, if you see Gohan tell him I'm there" and she was gone in the crowd before he could even answer.

The Z-fighters got in line early for the punch machine after Satan set the bar with a 136. There was a silent agreement to not show too much strength on the thing so they were all lightly tapping it. It was a real shocker for most of the assembled fighters when Krillin came up and tapped in a 155.

Trunks arrived with Erasa, having stopped to buy some ice scream. He saw the long line and thanked Kami that his friends were near the front so he could cut in. He also thanked Kami that neither of his mothers was here to make for an awkward situation.

Vegeta was next in line. He took one look at his future brat and smirked, the boy had good taste in women, much better than Kakkarott's spawn.

"I see you've found a suitable mate boy" he said before walking up to get his turn. Trunks balked and almost dropped his ice cream. To think he was worried about his mothers. Vegeta was the true menace.

"Is that your father?" Erasa asked. Trunks nodded

"He's really weird" Trunks simply nodded and waited for his father to finish, having subtly cut in line so he could go see his younger self fight in the junior tournament.

It was all for naught though, as Vegeta stepped up to the machine and punched it into a wall, shattering it into little pieces. Everyone gasped in surprise and fear while Trunks groaned and rubbed his palm to his head.

"Hn" Vegeta glared at the monks organizing the qualifiers and walked away, sparing only his son a glance and a nod.

"H-h-he's really strong" stated a startled Erasa. Vegeta's punch had caused her to drop her ice cream and grab a hold of Trunks' arm; he could feel her heart beat going a mile a minute. Trunks sighed and got settled in, they would be waiting a while until they got a new machine set up.

"Saiyaman!" Erasa yelled out. She and Trunks had been waiting for the new punch machine to be brought out for the last ten minutes, sharing Trunks' intact ice cream cone in that time. She caught sight of Videl coming in with Saiyaman, who had ditched his weird helmet for a bandana and shades. Erasa looked around for Gohan but didn't find him, probably went to find a seat in the stands. Hopefully he'd save her a seat because she doubted she'd find one when Trunks and Videl went to the fighter's area.

Saiyaman waved at her and Videl rolled her eyes. "Hello there good citizen! It's good to see the youth showing their support for-"

"Saiyaman is Gohan" Videl cut in.

"What?" both Erasa and Gohan spoke out. Gohan began looking around nerviously and spoke as softly as possible.

"Why'd you have to go and reveal me like that Videl?" he asked with indignation.

"We can trust Erasa and it was going to be extremely annoying to have you in character for kami knows how long" she responded cooly.

"Just, don't say it too loud next time" Gohan shushed her.

"Wait Gohan, if you're saiyaman, how is it you can fly?" she asked him, guessing that the answer would also explain how Trunks had done it all those years ago.

"Uh, well, you see…"

"Ok, we have calibrated the new machine, next person up please" Gohan was saved from an answer as Trunks stepped up to take his turn.

"And the winner is…Trunks!" the announcer yelled out to a multitude of cheers. The four teens that had been hustling to get to the arena were disappointed to see that the junior competition had finished.

"Aww guys you missed it" Goku called out to them. All those who would be participating in the tournament were watching the fights over a railing.

"Wait, did they just say Trunks won?" Erasa asked the others in confusion.

"He's my little brother" Trunks said quickly.

"You have the same name?" she asked skeptically

Trunks gave a nervous laugh "Its tradition, we repeat names between siblings"

"Oh that's so cute!" she exclaimed. Trunks released a breath.

"We need to get to the fighters section" Piccolo said, he was definitely pulling some namekian magic trick to walk around the tournament without drawing a second glance from anyone.

"Well, I'll be seeing you" Trunks told Erasa. If anything he wouldn't mind being paired up with Goku or his father to get eliminated early and go pass the time with her.

"I'll be cheering for you, maybe you'll even beat Mr. Satan!" she said in a joking mood. He chuckled, not for the reason she thought, and looked into her eyes.

"Maybe when I win we can spend go somewhere with the prize money?" he told her.

Erasa just smiled, got on her tip-toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Trunks tried and failed to hide the redness of his face as Erasa waved goodbye to him and went to find a seat.

"Wow, you're much smoother than Mr. Superhero over here" Krillin said with a pat on the back, embarrassing both Trunks and Gohan, who were almost thankful that the z-fighters didn't do reunions _that _often.

* * *

"We need to work together! Dabura is the king of the dark Kai, he's too powerful for any of you alone!" the Supreme Kais warning was not heeded though, as his four companions were arguing.

"It's not fair! I won't get to fight anyone" Gohan added a pout for effect, but the others weren't having it.

"If you were really as much of a genius as your mother says you are boy you would have learned some probability and not lost at Rock-Paper-Scissors" Vegeta accosted Gohan.

"Besides, you were so busy going out on dates these past few years that you've become soft, I'm sure that Trunks is much more competent than you" he added for good measure.

"Aww come on Vegeta lay off the kid." Goku cut in, he looked over to his son "Tell you what Gohan when we're done with this I can take you over to other world and you can face some of my friends, they're really strong…"

"If you're finished being idiots" Dabura interrupted, he looked to be tired of the Saiyan's constant arguing. "We can start now" he snapped his finger, alerting Babidi to change the setting into a rocky plain that resembled the planet Namek, with a few large lakes scattered around the landscape.

Trunks stepped forward, stretching his muscles. He hadn't gotten to fight in the tournament, so he was going to take his frustrations out on Dabura. He could sense the Demon's ki, he was as strong as Cell, so he knew it wouldn't be easy. Trunks didn't waste time and went straight to level two, letting the power and electricity course through his body.

"Not interested in foreplay I see" Dabura said lazily as he also unleashed his power in a circular wave.

Trunks narrowed his eyes as they circled each other, both waiting for the other to make a move. Their eyes never left each other, each gazing into the others soul and waging a mental war that only those adept at sensing ki could witness. A moment of silence was followed by a snap as both flew straight at the other.

Their fists collided at the center, sending out a sonic boom that wouldn't be heard by either as they were already exchanging blows thirty miles away. Neither was connecting with the other as both weaved out of kicks and punches. Trunks caught Daburas cape and tossed him towards the ground. Dabura stopped himself twenty feet from colliding only to have Trunks' fist help him cover the rest of the distance.

Dabura made a crash and a splash as he went through the ground and into the water below it. Trunks sent a ki blast into the crater and kept his senses tense.

Dabura popped out of the water a hundred feet away from Trunks, who chose that moment to detonate his ki blast and let a plume of smoke come out of the crater and hide both of them inside of it.

Just as Trunks had thought, Dabura couldn't sense ki, he decided to make this one count and struck Dabura with his fingers straight outward, working like a sword and cutting into the flesh of the demon king's upper stomach. Dabura growled out In pain and he swung his arm to try and hit Trunks in the back. Trunks flew back to avoid it but Dabura conjured a sword at the last moment, slicing Trunks in the chest and drawing blood from the young demi-saiyan.

They flew out of the smoke with Dabura swinging his sword at Trunks, trying to slice the demi-saiyan. Trunks dodged most of the swings until he got a good angle and made a precise spinning kick on the sword's side, breaking it in half. While following through the spin he gingerly took the broken off half and finished off the spin by throwing it at Dabura at point blank range. Dabura didn't flinch as he batted the sword aside and dodged Trunks' punch. Trunks had planned for this, he'd distracted Dabura with a punch to buy himself the time to reach out and grab the sword half before it flew off too far.

He'd taken it with the sharp end facing him but it didn't matter as he shoved it into the unsuspecting Dabura's shoulder, making him yell out in pain and reflexively shoot a blast of energy from his mouth. Trunks tried to dodge but was caught head on by the blast, sending him flying backwards and crashing into a mountain.

Dabura growled as he pulled the blade out of his shoulder, he felt the heat of an incoming ki blast and threw the sword at it, detonating the blast. Trunks burst through the smoke, throwing rapid fire punch after punch at Dabura, who dodged each one easily. It seemed that Dabura's blast had affected Trunks heavily, as the young demi-saiyan was fighting more sluggishly than before. Dabura could predict his moves perfectly and waited to take the best opening he could find.

It came a few seconds later and Dabura brought his elbow to Trunks' neck, making the teen scream out in pain and go crashing to the ground. Dabura followed him down and punched him in the face before he could stand up, grinding him into the ground even more. Trunks tried to retaliate with ki blasts but Dabura was too quick, stomping on his hands before he could create his blast. Trunks let off a yelp in pain as his hands were crushed by Dabura's feet. The Demon king smirked.

"For a second there I thought you'd be a challenge" he said cockily, conjuring another sword to deliver the killing blow. He looked back towards the weakling's friends, longing to see the look of shock and fear in their eyes, and was disappointed by what he saw. The only one showing surprise was the Supreme Kai, and he was more pleasantly surprised than anything. The other three wore impassive and almost bored looks.

Dabura bared his teeth and turned to the boy, bringing his sword down to decapitate him. He was halfway through before he realized it, too late to get out of the way of the energy disk that went in through his back and burst out his chest, bringing his intestines along with it. Dabura doubled over in agony and fell to his knees, not understanding how this could have happened. He looked to his killer and was shocked to see the blonde haired teen, the same teen that was still on the floor with his hands broken.

"Thanks, I needed a new one" Trunks said as he took the sword from Dabura's hand. He made a show of merging back with his other multi-form image before chopping the demon king's head clean off.

"I should have waited for him to make a sheath" Trunks lamented one second too late. Outside of Babidi's ship, Piccolo and Krillin were brought back to life from stone.

"Good strategy Trunks, you were really quick with him!" Goku patted Trunks in the back. Trunks smiled.

"I could have overpowered him eventually but that would have given too much power to Majin Buu, this way that bastard got almost nothing!" even Vegeta had to acknowledge that his son's strategy had been sound.

"Guess I really need to pick up my training eh?" Gohan said sheepishly. Goku chuckled.

"Oh come on Gohan, its natural that you would have slacked off with Chichi making you study all the time and no one to spar with. I'm sure with Trunks around now you'll get up to date in no time!"

"Astounding" the Supreme Kai said, his voice filled with wonder as she looked at the saiyans "I definitely should have kept a better eye on this corner of the universe"

"Well Babidi, you lost, its time to give up" Goku yelled out into the air.

Inside his ship, the little gray wizard was shitting bricks. His last line of defense was gone, he had nothing left on his ship to combat those bastards and Buu was only at half-power. He was in desperation mode.

"FUCK YOU SUPREME KAI!" he yelled out before performing a spell, sending the five warriors into the farthest corner of the universe. He didn't have much time, so he snapped his fingers quickly.

"YOU!" a shaking henchman walked up, petrified of what Babidi would ask of him.

"Yes master Babidi?" replied the kneeling lackey. Babidi handed him the receptacle that was used to feed Buu energy.

"Put your gun inside of that, stick it in the egg and shoot when I finish the spell"

"What?" he asked, bewildered at the wizards request.

"Do as I say, I have no time for your stupidity" Babidi threatened while he wrung his wrists in preparation for the spell. This was a gamble, but a gamble was the only thing he had left.

Babidi began chanting, evoking the magics his father had pioneered, speaking at a frantic pace that was unwise for such a precise spell. Sweat came down his brow as he chanted, the scared henchman whimpering as he waited to do his part.

Abruptly, Babidi's chant ended. "NOW!" he yelled and the henchman did as told, stabbing the egg and pulling the trigger of his laser gun in one fluid movement, perfectly excecuted.

There was a moment of silence in which the entirety of Babidi's ship stood frozen in wait. Outside, Piccolo and Krillin were met with Trunks, Gohan, Goku, Vegeta and the Supreme Kai, who had teleported back from Babidi's banishment almost instantaneously.

The moment passed and the ship exploded.

The explosion did not happen radially, it didn't go in all directions and destroy the planet. Instead it burst upwards from the ground in a continous beam that incinerated all in its path, a beam of dark energies that reached the end of the universe and came back in less than a second. It condensed until almost becoming fully solid, until it suddenly disappeared.

And like that, Buu was gone.

"So that's it, it's over?" Goku questioned, almost disappointed that this had been the excitement for the day.

The Supreme Kai looked disconcerted. He was sure that Buu and Babidi were gone, but he had felt something different coming from that explosion. Whatever Babidi had done it had messed up the universe, this was definitely something to look out for.

"Only time will tell Goku"

* * *

In another universe, an angry man felt dark energies pulse out just a few feet away from him. He grinned maniacally has he rode the wave and dipped into the darkness, which transported him to another time and another place.

* * *

"And Mr. Satan is still World Champion!" came the booming voice from the announcer. Mr. Satan raised his arms to the sky in exuberance, trying to forget the fact that he'd have to come up with twenty million Zenni to give the blonde before the end of the week.

The crowd dispersed, though the tournament had been ridiculously short due to most of the participants leaving the climactic battle royal made up for it. It would be a tournament talked about for decades to come and it was sad that all camera equipment had mysteriously malfunctioned.

"Where the hell could those idiots be!" Bulma yelled in frustration. She'd been angry when Vegeta and Goku and everyone else had left for no reason but after a while she'd accepted that they were all adults and didn't need to be babysat. What really made her angry though was them causing her baby boy to follow in their footsteps to god knows where! When they came back little Trunks wasn't the only one who'd get a spanking.

Videl had just arrived, making her landing near the fighter's area next to the ring. She could hear the elation coming from the people around her and could only assume that her father had somehow won. She hoped that Gohan was ok but she couldn't dwell on it right now. She stretched out her senses, something that still felt very new to her, and was overwhelmed for a second by all the different kis. She fought through the feeling of vertigo and concentrated on the three energies that stood out over all the others belonging to #18, Roshi and Yamcha. She began walking towards them.

"Videl!" Erasa waved towards her friend, whom she caught walking on the opposite direction of most of the crowd. The dark haired teen turned to the sound of her name and smiled at her friend, waving her over to accompany her to where she was going. Erasa jogged a little to catch up with the Satan girl.

"What was up with all that flying away? How did you learn to fly? Can you teach me? How did you heal do fas.."

"Gohan taught me how to fly, I think Trunks would be more than happy to teach you" Videl winked and Erasa whacked her in the arm good naturedly, not really embarrassed by the suggestion. "The other questions I'll answer later" Videl added.

They walked up to a clearing where the z-crew was grouped up, Bulma and Chi-Chi caught sight of Videl and were ready to bombard the poor girl with words but Mirai Bulma beat them to it.

'WHERE IS MY SON?" she gripped Videl by the shirt tightly, shaking her around frantically. It ended up being the two other mothers who had to restrain the mad woman. ChiChi, who had warmed up to Videl like a second mother, gave her a stern look.

"Where did my sons go Videl?" she asked measuredly.

"They're with the Supreme Kai trying to stop some monster named Majin Buu" she blurted out.

All three women deflated, resigned looks across the board. Bulma brought a palm to her head in defeat "Did we really expect anything else?"

Erasa gave Videl a confused look and Videl rolled her eyes "C'mon Erasa, after all you're going to learn today you're going to wear that expression out"

Mirai Bulma, who still had a softened grip on Videl, turned to Erasa whom she hadn't noticed before.

"Whos this?" she asked for all of them.

"Oh sorry for being rude" Erasa dropped her head for not having introduced herself "My name is Erasa, I'm a friend of Videl's"

Mirai Bulma and Bulma shared a look, suspecting the reason for why Videl's friend would be 'learning' things today but not wanting to come out with it until they got more evidence or until Trunks arrived.

"Listen, I've got a husband in jeopardy out there and you don't see me crying, let's go to Capsule Corp and enjoy some family time and wait there for the idiots to come back" 18 chipped in, eliciting a resigned sigh from the other three women and big smiles from Roshi and Yamcha, the former for the perving opportunities on Bulma's mother and the latter for the soft couches that his crappy apartment didn't have.

Bulma pulled out a capsule case and picked a large copter out, tossing it out in a cloud of smoke. She got into the copter and everyone else took her cue.

Erasa hesitated for a second before being nodded along by Videl. Erasa smiled and walked up to the jet before she got a contemplative look on her face.

She tapped Videl rapidly on the shoulder "Wait a minute that's Bulma Briefs!" she told her friend frantically.

Videl nodded "She's also Trunks' mother"

One reveal at a time was definitely a good strategy.

"Capsule Corp! I can't believe it" Erasa exclaimed in bewilderment as they exited the jet-copter

"Better believe it Erasa" Videl pinched her friend on the shoulder.

"So Erasa, you're a friend of Videl and Gohan from school?" Mirai Bulma edged up to her from the right, the present Bulma was slightly behind to the left, they were like a finely tuned machine.

"Oh yes Mrs. Um…" she trailed off, not knowing who this woman that looked a lot like Bulma Briefs was.

"Briefs" she supplied

Erasa looked like she wanted to know if she was Bulma Brief's sister and why she'd never been heard of but decided to ask Videl later.

"So so you must have met my son Trunks right?"

Erasa tried and almost succeeded in covering a slight blush before nodding. "He's very nice"

That was all the Bulmas needed to know their suspicions were not unfounded. The two of them squealed in excitement and Mirai Bulma squeezed Erasa tightly in a bone crushing hug.

"I'm so happy!" she breathed out to the frail blonde that looked more than a little uncomfortable in the older woman's iron grip. Videl came in for the rescue and pried her away, proposing to give her a tour of the premises. They disappeared into the main building quickly.

"Wait, you've been here before Videl?" Erasa asked as they navigated through the hallways. Videl shook her head yes.

"Hello there!" a bubbly voice from the side made them turns around. Mrs. Briefs had her usual platter of sweets and closed-eye smile. Videl did a double take, from the striped tank tops to the bubbly voice it was almost like looking at mirror images. Of course there were differences, Erasa's eyes were visible, her hair was straighter and her chest was bigger but it was still uncanny.

The silence was broken by a dual "I love your blouse!" from both blondes. Videl knew then that this wasn't going to end well for her.

* * *

"I'll be keeping an eye on this planet and staying in contact with your Kami" the Supreme Kai was saying his goodbyes, flustered but not at all displeased with the results of the day.

"Sorry about Kibito Mr. Supreme Kai sir" Gohan said solemnly, the Supreme Kai nodded in acknowledgement, wondering if he should get a new aid or just look Kibito up in other world. He gave a single wave and teleported away to his home realm.

The others shrugged and flew in the direction of Capsule Corp where everyone's ki was currently. Piccolo could not be persuaded though; he left immediately for the watchtower without as much as a goodbye to anyone. They'd caught up with the wayward Goten and Trunks on their way away from Babidi's ship so the whole crew was there.

They arrived at CC, Goku already salivating at the impromptu cookout he himself had just planned. They landed in the yard where the women were waiting for them. Chichi sighed in exaggerated relief seeing Goten in perfect condition. She rushed up to them and slapped Goku.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL THAT ABOUT?" she screamed out at the top of her lungs.

"Geez Chi you sure haven't been slacking off these seven years" Goku joked rubbing his face. Chichi glared at her dead husband, turning to the others for answers.

Krillin stepped up, used to being the scapegoat "Don't worry Chichi we dealt with the problem there's no more danger" Chichi harrumphed and grabbed Goten by the ear, dragging the screaming boy away for a spanking. Bulma took her lead and did the same to a previously laughing Chibi Trunks. Trunks had it worse; he took one look at his mother's smug face and knew the reason why.

"A friend of yours came with us Trunks" she started up, making her son uncomfortable.

"Who, Videl?" he tried playing dumb to avoid the inevitable.

Mirai Bulma shook her head "Oh my baby's first girlfriend!" she couldn't hold herself in any longer and went for her second bone crushing hug of the day, though this person could take it with no problem.

"Mother I just met her today" Trunks hissed at her in embarrassment.

"Oh I know that makes me even more proud! My son is a ladies' man!" she beamed at him. Krillin, Goku Gohan were eating the scene up in the background, even Vegeta had a small smile on his face.

"Gohan!" Gohan grinned over at Videl and shot her a victory sign, she responded in king and jumped on him with a hug.

"So Gohan has a girlfriend too?" Goku asked out loud. This lifted Trunks' mood though it didn't get a reaction out of Videl, only making Gohan blush.

Trunks turned around to see Erasa walking up to them digging into some flan, side-by-side with his grandmother who was carrying a platter. She waved at happily and he waved back, ignoring his mother's heart-shaped eyes.

"Trunks you need to taste this! It's so good" she took another treat from Mrs. Brief's platter and handed it to Trunks who, saiyan through and through, wasn't complaining.

'Hey is that flan?" Goku jumped out excitedly, mobbing Mrs. Briefs and forgetting the barbeque for now.

Two hours later, Goku's dream had come true. Mr. Briefs was being helped by his wife and an array of robots in preparing a truly massive cookout to appease the saiyan appetites that hadn't been sated by the meal at the World Martial Arts Tournament. Goku and Goten were standing to the side, salivating at the sight.

"So Trunks, why don't you start explaining all of this?" Erasa asked him. They were sitting on a bech a bit apart from everyone else; they'd been here for the past thirty minutes just watching everyone else interact, not really noticing or caring that there was no space between the two of them. Erasa lazily put layed her head on Trunks' shoulder and waited for him to start his story.

Trunks sighed, knowing this moment was coming but not really bothered by it "I guess I should start with my dad…"

* * *

_Two months later_

"Big Round of applause to the class of 774!" the principal on the microphone was drowned out almost immediately by the cheers. This was a special graduation, the daughter of Mr. Satan was moving on into higher education, a moment of true rejoicing. The media was ever present in the big event, jumping over each other to get an interview with Videl and her suspected boyfriend.

Separate from all this, Erasa received a kiss on the head from her mother, who had tears of happiness in her eyes. Videl and Gohan had left quickly to avoid the media and so she would be meeting up with them and all of Gohan's friends and family at Mr. Satan's mansion.

On Erasa's other side, Trunks grave her hand a squeeze and offered her a soft smile, not really sure if he should kiss her in front of her mother. Erasa threw away any of those doubts by planting her lips firmly on his, giving a deep but chaste kiss to the demi-saiyan. She whispered in his ear in order to be heard over the commotion.

"I hope you'll think about it" she said and pulled back, turning to speak with her mother. She was talking about what had been proposed to him by both her and Gohan before: going to college with them. Trunks scorned it in initially, the z-warriors had proven that a being with super powers did _not _need a job, but recently he'd thought the experience would be fun. He'd be able to spend more time with his friends and girlfriend and would come into it with no pressure, he wasn't planning on getting a job but it could still be a good experience.

The fact that there were coed dorm rooms at Orange Star University was playing no part in his decision.

Three hours later they were all at Mr. Satan's house, celebrating. The champ hadn't been too happy to discover his daughter was dating, he was even less happy when he talked to him face to face. He was terrified when he'd learned his back-story.

Needless to say, Mr. Satan had mellowed out and more than welcomed Gohan and his family.

Mr. Satan's house was lush, almost as big as Capsule Corp and with more of a 'rich guy' feel. There was a pool that was illuminated beautifully in the moonlight, next to witch a couple sat.

"I think I'll do it" Trunks announced unceremoniously.

Erasa squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "I knew you'd give in!" she said happily. Trunks smiled and searched for her mouth with his, connecting and going into a deep kiss. Erasa's hands went into his hair, which he'd grown out to his shoulders after she'd expressed her appreciation for his appearance in the cell games, and Trunks' hands went to her waist, poised to travel upwards as the night went along. Above them, for a second, a light in the sky shone brighter than any other.

He was angry. One second he'd destroyed all of this and now here it was, alive and thriving. He wasn't the best at navigation but he knew where he was; one of the north galaxies, the same one he'd destroyed, a few thousand light years away from the first planet he'd blown up. He had no idea what had happened, in fact his brain wasn't developed enough to even understand it if it was explained to him, but what he knew was that he'd need to go back there right now and blow it up again.

A few galaxies away, another being raised his head and decided it was time to head towards earth, to exact his revenge.

**It's pretty obvious who one of the bad guys is isn't it? Hope you liked it**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long wait, but I've been bogged down by school work and probably will for a while, though hopefully I can get the next one out sooner. I actually planned for this chapter to be much longer but cut it off to put something , to anyone else getting done in by this messed up site, I don't know when they'll fix it but for now try replacing 'property' with 'content' in the Url when the error shows. **

BEEEEP

His eyes cracked open just a bit, enough to see the time and realize it was way too early to be awake. He rolled over on the bed and folded the pillow over his ears as the irritating sound blared into his sensitive eardrums and assaulted his brain. He held off from destroying the stupid alarm because he knew how much it irritated Erasa having to buy a new one every other day.

Next semester he would make sure to have no classes before midday.

It wasn't like he could really complain; he'd probably spent more time studying when he wasn't in college than right now. His schedule was almost identical to his girlfriends with a few phys ed classes added on top and he'd learned more about drinking than anything else. Of course this was because he was sensible enough to realize that as a super powerful being and the son of a billionaire education wouldn't really provide any extra benefit. While Gohan was taking every science course imaginable Trunks, Erasa and Videl were pretty much cruising through their first year.

Erasa stirred, wincing at the loud sound and turning to face Trunks, burying her face in his chest and digging a trench into the bed.

"Why don't we sleep it off?" Trunks asked hopefully, wrapping his arms around her and gripping her backside, pushing their naked bodies closer together. Erasa moaned slightly at the warmth and closeness but opened her eyes with sleepy determination.

"Trunks, you know we haven't gone to this class in two weeks" she stroked his cheek with her palm, not being able to resist the moment even when trying to be the voice of reason. Their bodies were reacting to the shared heat and Erasa shuddered as she felt his excitement burning against her inner thigh.

"If they wanted us to go they wouldn't have put it at seven in the morning now would they?" he said this as if it was the wisest thing he'd ever said and he accented it with a nibble at her earlobe that elicited a groggy moan from her.

Erasa took a hold of his head and brought it down to her luscious breasts, demanding attention.

Maybe a morning quickie would actually help them get to class on time.

"At least you made it this time" Videl commented while the three of them were exiting the classroom, heading to meet up with Gohan for some breakfast.

"I think not going was better than arriving 40 minutes in" Trunks complained, they could have gotten a head start on breakfast instead of sitting through ten minutes of lecture. It was a rather easy class anyways; Trunks could pass almost anything the university offered without studying except for history courses.

"You know babe if you keep making us late you're going to have to tutor me again" Erasa glanced up at him cheekily. Trunks grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, if being late meant more tutoring sessions he would rig the alarm to go off in the late afternoon.

"We'd need to start soon and go at it every day to make sure you're ready" he said with a look of fake contemplation.

Videl groaned "God can you two stop slobbering all over each other!" she hadn't mean to yell it out so loudly but she couldn't take it back. The people around them were staring and Videl's face reddened as she quickened her pace towards the meeting spot.

"Someone isn't getting any" Erasa quipped, grabbing onto Trunks' arm and adopting an innocent look at Videl's angry face.

"Some of us can control ourselves and don't need to share a room every single day" she shot at her friend defensively.

"Oh please, you aren't in a co-ed dorm because your father didn't let you" Trunks surprised even himself with that comment, he was usually very quiet in these situations but this timeline and his chatty girlfriend had made him loosen up.

Videl's face turned almost purple and Erasa giggled uncontrollably, pinching Trunks' cheek and calling him a good boy, a habit she'd picked up with chibi-Trunks and something that filled Mirai Trunks with indignation. In response to his grumbling look she pecked him on the cheek and giggled good naturedly. Trunks hated himself for not being able to stay even slightly disgruntled at her.

"You two are the worst thing to ever happen" Erasa stuck her tongue out at Videl and they went into a battle of making faces at the other, escalating he exaggerated gestures until someone was sure to get hurt.

There was a moment where something flared across Trunks' senses before disappearing immediately. It startled him enough to stop his heart from beating but after a few moments of nothing more happening he'd thought it was all in his head. The trio strolled near the natural sciences building where Gohan had most of his classes.

The raven haired Son boy was exiting the building when they reached it, he saw them and waved, jogging in their direction with a book in hand and a backpack slung across his shoulder. His attire hadn't changed from high school but they'd managed to dissuade him from wearing glasses to 'look more professional' as he put it. They'd even managed to entice him into a few parties here and there.

"Hey guys" Gohan greeted when he reached them. He kissed Videl good morning.

"Hey Gohan, how was your class?" Erasa asked to make conversation, Dende knows she didn't understand half of what he studied.

"Oh you now, It's still pretty simple stuff. Triple integration and what not. The semester is starting up so it's more of a review"

"Ugh, really? I tell you this university needs to raise its educational standards in a major way" Trunks commented, getting primed up for a very boring discussion of the curriculum. He might have been a slacker but he was still a genius damn it!.

Videl and Erasa were saved from a boring and long winded conversation by the gurgling of two stomachs, which could almost be heard through all the campus.

Gohan and Trunks grinned sheepishly. "So were are we going to do breakfast today?" the Son boy asked hopefully.

"I think we should try Capsule Corp" Erasa suggested, everybody made a face at this as they all wanted to go to Chichi's. "Come on you guys remember that you owe little Trunks a visit!" she tried the guilt trip on them.

It was true, they hadn't been to CC in over a month due to them almost always eating around the city or at Chichi's house, both Bulmas had visited the campus once but other than that they'd been cut off from the Briefs family. Not that you could blame them, the disparity in food quality between Chichi and Bulma's robots was very sizeable.

"Ok ok, you win. But tomorrow we're going to your house!" Videl shot at Erasa. This elicited a round of laughter from Gohan and furious refusal from Trunks and Erasa. Erasa's mother wasn't against their relationship; she was just _way _more into it than was healthy for a middle aged woman. It was Chichi's grandchildren speeches turned up to eleven.

"It's only fair Erasa" Videl put her foot down. This was revenge for the embarrassment she'd gone through earlier.

Erasa huffed in defeat. "Fine. We'll go to momma's house tomorrow but that's it for the semester!" Videl grinned triumphantly and and Trunks gave Erasa an alarmed look. Videl took out her jet car capsule, popping it open. They all jumped in, Videl in the driver's seat with Gohan shotgun and the other two in the back. She flew only long enough to get them high up in the clouds before the four of them jumped out and flew the rest of the way.

Videl had mastered flying in a short time. Erasa, who had never been a fighter, took much more time to learn but was now adequate at flying. In fact, learning how to fly had actually helped her physically as it proved to be the best resistance training in the world, working up from only being able to hover to flying short distances without getting tired and so on. It had actually lead to Trunks giving her some martial arts training during the summer that they continued whenever they could, a bonding experience for them.

"Don't you guys have a class coming up?" Mirai Bulma asked the four teens who were lounging around in the living room. They had had a stroke of luck today because Chichi and 18 had been staying over for some lady time and Chichi was more than happy to cook them a marvelous breakfast. Trunks and Erasa had demanded that they shouldn't have to visit her mother but Videl wouldn't budge.

"I think Gohan has a class or something right? In half an hour?" Trunks asked his friend. Gohan nodded but gave Trunks a puzzled look; he knew for a fact that Trunks had a class in less than ten minutes.

"College isn't like it was when I was a kid, you kids have way too much leisure time" Bulma complained, looking over to her future self along with Chichi and 18 for some support. It didn't work out.

"How could you have even gone to college Bulma? Weren't you in some wacky adventure every other day until like thirteen years ago?" 18 asked.

"Hey, I'll have you know we did four years in West City University before we even met Goku!" Mirai Bulma came to the rescue.

"Four years? I only did three and a half"

"What?" both Bulmas looked mystified by this discovery.

"Then that means there are more divergences than just the androids! Oh girl we need to do some serious research on this" Bulma grabbed her future self's hand and they skipped away to their laboratory, to investigate further divergences through gossiping about the past.

"TWUUUUUNKS I HATE YOU!" the voice of little Marron came from far away. 18 just sighed and prepared to leave the room.

"Does that happen often or something?" Trunks asked her puzzled.

"Your younger brat self seems to be obsessed with pestering my daughter" was the android's response before leaving.

"Aww how cute he's got a little crush!" Erasa and Videl chorused.

"It seems your family can't get off blondes, eh Trunks?" Gohan joked to his friend. Trunks rolled his eyes.

In deep space, a saiyan known as Brolly was flying aimlessly. He was the most powerful being in the universe able to crush galaxies in his sleep. The ultimate killing machine. None of that mattered right now, because he couldn't navigate through the emptiness of space. He couldn't sense ki and he didn't recognize his surroundings, so he had spent the last few hours since his arrival flying in every which way. The only thing that stopped him from simply laying waste to everything in front of him was that burning feeling in his gut that the fool that had escaped was here. Along with another burning feeling of deeper in him that told him the bigger fish was here.

Kakarrot was here, he could just smell it.

Brolly's aimless wandering had an important effect. It allowed the other being heading for earth to arrive before he had the chance to decimate its inhabitants. This other being had a much more subtle and thought out plan than Brolly.

It helped that his near death experience had left him with some much needed wisdom.

"So what's the answer to the problem?"

Erasa bit her lip, a little nervous and wanting to prove that she was a quick learner. Ever since middle school she had developed a reputation of being an airhead, her friends even teased her about it, but she really wanted to prove that she wasn't just a pretty face; it was one of her biggest fears that Trunks would find her too shallow and dump her for somebody more 'engaging'.

She was sitting cross-legged in their bed with a notebook on her lap and eraser shavings scattered all around her. Trunks was laying on his side next to her helping with her math problems and

"… 7x + 5?" she asked more than stated. Trunks gesticulated with his right hand asking her to continue.

She concentrated hard for a second, wondering what she was missing, before quickly remembering.

"plus C!" she said with more confidence. Trunks smiled and congratulated her, earning an exited squeal from his girlfriend.

"This is great! I think I'll really have this down by the end of the night!" she shuffled with her notebook, looking for another problem to see if she could do it without any help. Trunks turned onto his back and looked out the sole window of their dorm room.

It late in the afternoon, the sun still wasn't setting but it was ready to. The red and orange hues were starting to creep up into the clear sky with a few thin clouds scattered across the landscape. It was weirdly mesmerizing, he found himself staring more fixedly, thinking about everything and nothing at once. It was a rather mellowing experience so it shocked him even more when the sky turned abruptly black.

He was startled by the sudden change, from calm clear skies to the dreary dark sky filled to the brim with storm clouds. The sudden and random streaks of lightning with no rain or wind to accompany them brought him out of his shock and made him realize what this was.

"Impossible!" he jumped up from his resting position, startling Erasa and making her jump.

"Trunks! You scared me!" she swatted his arm but Trunks wasn't paying attention, he was looking at the sky closely to confirm what he knew to be true.

"Erasa could you give me your phone?" he asked her.

"What's going on?"

"Look outside" he told her, getting up from the bed to get it himself. He took the phone and quickly dialed up Videl. She and Gohan were supposed to be fighting crime together or something.

The call was answered quickly "Are you guys seeing what we're seeing?" Videl asked.

Trunks breathed out, so it wasn't some freak occurrence. "Yeah, this is serious. Listen, you guys fly in the direction of Ginger Town we'll meet up with you in a minute and we'll see what's up" he hung up the phone and picked his t-shirt off the floor.

Erasa was straightening her slightly mussed hair out, a look of contained excitement mixed with fear and apprehension.

"It's really like you said it was, when the dragon comes!" She got a contemplative look "I remember a bunch of times when I was a kid this same thing happening. I can't believe a dragon is the actual reason"

Trunks grimaced. "Erasa, this isn't good. Nobody knows about the dragon balls, for somebody to have gotten them under our nose…" he trailed off and Erasa became serious, cursing herself for taking such a situation lightly.

"Right, I understand, we need to be fast then Trunks" he nodded at her and they walked out of the room, closing the door and running out of the building at speeds invisible to the naked eye. They flew towards Ginger town.

With the overly dark background it was easy to make out the glowing aura in the distance. Instead of two people though they met up with a bunch; Vegeta, Krillin, Piccolo, Goten and Chibi Trunks were all waiting for them to arrive.

"Hmph, about time boy" Vegeta said, blasting off in the direction of the now fully visible dragon, cutting off any conversation and making everyone else follow his lead.

Trunks turned to look at the two Chibis "What are you two doing here?" he asked.

Goten pouted "We want to see the dragon!" little Trunks gave his older counterpart a challenging look, daring him to try to make them go back.

Trunks sighed, letting it go. Just because the dragon had shown up it didn't that there was danger, especially since they hadn't sensed anything overtly powerful. Besides, Trunks and Goten could hold their own much better than either Erasa or Videl.

"Why'd you come along Krillin? You never like to get involved anymore" Gohan asked with sincerity, not noticing the insult implicit in that statement. Krilling guffawed at the burst of laughter that came from everyone else except for the Son boys and Piccolo.

"For your information Gohan, Marron wanted me to take a picture of it" he pulled up the little camera he had in his hand.

"Hn. That scaredy cat can't even see it in person cause she's so scared" Chibi Trunks insulted.

"So you wanted her to come along Trunks?" Erasa asked hiding a giggle.

Chibi reddened. "No! Why would I want a stupid girl here!" he flew faster, Goten following his lead, to fly alongside his father.

Everyone was now laughing a little at the chibi's immaturity. The tension that had been present before was now all but gone when they saw the dragon rising up in the horizon.

"Wow" was said in unison by the people who had never seen the dragon. It was a majestic sight, the long body of the dragon Shenron floating ethereally in the sky like a genie out of a bottle. The dragon's tail led down to a wellspring of light where the dragon balls were collected. It was a clearing near a mountainous area. Only Krillin remembered that this was the site of Vegeta and Goku's first fight.

High up in the lookout, a very confused and concerned Dende was looking down to the planet below.

"I can't believe someone different found the dragon balls" Mr. Popo said from the young guardians side, not really worried. Before the z-fighters the dragon balls where found every few hundred years or so and no human had ever made a wish that threatened life on the planet.

"This isn't right"

"What's wrong Dende?"

Dende turned to the immortal genie, concern now much more evident on his face.

"I have a connection with the Dragon Balls Mr. Popo. I can't sense where they are when they're scattered across the globe but when someone summons the dragon I can feel something inside my soul resonate" he gulped "I'm not feeling anything right now"

Mr. Popo's eyes widened in shock, not really understanding what this could mean. He looked down towards earth now with more focus, hoping that whatever happened, the z-fighters could take care of it.

The group landed right under the dragon, where a skinny young man stood stiff as a board, gazing straight up at the mute dragon. This was the first warning sign for the people who had actually seen the dragon before, as he was notorious for being impatient.

Vegeta scuffed at the weakling that had summoned the beast, having half a mind to just up and leave so he could get some training in. Chibi and Goten where staring at the dragon in open mouthed awe. Videl and Erasa where having a similar if not a bit more composed reaction.

Gohan, always the friendly guy, stepped forward.

"Um. Hello there kid, I know this must be a big shock for you but don't worry, we can explain everything" Gohan put a hand to his shoulder. Gohan felt a chill run down his spine and his body froze, a wave of cold radiating outward and affecting everybody else, leaving them immobile. It happened so subtly that it was almost imperceptible, but the gloomy and dark surroundings started fading and turning even darker until all the z-fighters could see around them was black and white except for the teenager and the still glowing Shenron.

They tried moving, they fought for release from this force that was holding them in place, but there was nothing they could do. They could even access their ki internally. Then a very familiar voice rang through their heads.

"Consider this my revenge fools. I might not be able to kill you, but the fate I'm sending you to will be worse than death!" at that, the teen and Shenron started shifting, turning into a grey blob that began to whittle down in size and mass until it stood at three feet. It took a vaguely humanoid shape before the identity was revealed.

_Babidi! _

The minute wizard thrust his palms forward "NOW ENJOY THE END OF TIME!"

And just like that they all vanished.

Babidi smiled, part one of his revenge was finished. With all the threats in the living world gone he'd need to set up a trap for the Supreme Kai. Soon the mortal and the other worlds would be his.

On the bright side, they where able to move.

Unfortunately, they were falling down a bright tunnel. Trunks had been here before, five times to be exact. The time stream was much different when viewed from outside the time machine though. The chaos that existed within was too much for any being to overcome. The time stream, when you thought about it, was the multiverse itself. Trunks' first trip to the past had proven that you couldn't actually change an event that had already happened; you could only create an alternate timeline. That alternate timeline became part (or maybe had always been part) of an infinite gamut of opportunities.

Trunks took control of the situation, stopping his silent scream and looking to his left. Erasa had a face of pure terror as she was falling helplessly into a white void that would consume them all, Trunks acted quickly and grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to him and snapping her out of it. This action snapped everyone else out of it, and they all reacted, able to steady themselves and stop the freefall.

Videl yipped and almost continued falling, along with Krillin. Goten and little Trunks helped keep them in the air. Vegeta and Piccolo where seething with rage.

The effect of the time stream was similar to the hyperbolic time chamber, very high gravity and intense temperatures with an added distortion of the surroundings that created some nausea in them. The air felt so thick it was difficult to breathe.

Trunks tried to speak but nothing came out. He raised his voice to the same effect. Only when he yelled out was his voice finnaly heard by everyone.

"Guys!"

Piccolo was smart enough to notice what was going on and so he began speaking to everyone telepathically.

H_uddle up close and make sure everyone is holding hands. We cannot afford to get separated_

Everyone except vegeta did accordingly, forming a chain. Vegeta crossed his arms in disapproval but he did gravitate closer to the group so as to not lose them.

_Any bright ideas?_

It was Videl who spoke up. The others looked around, trying to find any way out of this hell. Trunks was as lost as the rest, even though he'd passed through this place multiple times the time machine had done all the work.

They didn't need to make a decision, just then dozens of doors opened up around them from the ether. With a mighty force the doors sucked in like vacuum cleaners, the group struggled for a seconds but the pressure was too much. First it was Krillin whose grip slipped and was sucked into a door that closed upon his entry. Chibi Trunks, who had been next to him, was rattled by this and this and lost his resolve for a moment. It was more than enough for him to be sucked in by the vacuum along with Goten. The other four saw this and flew towards the chibis, hoping to make it through with them, but only Vegeta and Piccolo were able to make it through before the door closed.

Gohan and Videl to the left and Trunks and Erasa to the right had one moment to look at the other group before they too were sucked into a pair of doors.

_CAW _

"Urgh" she stirred, feeling sore all over and not remembering anything at all. They must have gotten drunk the night before, it had been the weekend… right?.

Erasa opened her eyes and stared up at a red sun. It was weird; the sun had never looked this color before. Her neck was really stiff and she could feel bruises coming up all over. She felt something next to her and looked in that direction. Trunks were there, still sleeping, with a busted lip and a myriad of scratches. She noticed then that they were lying on hard ground. She stood up to look at their sorroundings but it took a big effort to stand up. Getting on her two feet she felt weighted down and found it a bit hard to breathe.

Then she remembered.

"Oh my KAMI!" she shrieked, kneeling down to Trunks and shaking him awake. The purple haired demi saiyan's eyes fluttered open, a smile creeping up on his face when he saw Erasa, which was replace by the realization of what had happened. He jumped up immediately, Instinctively reaching back to where his sword would have been until he remembered that he was in a t-shirt and jeans.

"T-T-T-runks, d-d-did that really happen?" she was hoping beyond all hope that it had all been a dream.

Trunks looked down at her, noticing her quavering lip, and took her into a deep embrace. She shook in his arms and tried not to cry, she didn't want to seem weak in front of him, she wanted to prove she was strong. She calmed herself down and pulled away from him. Trunks kept his hands around her but became more aware of his surroundings. The gravity was definitely much heavier than earths', not as much as the time stream but still noticeable. They were in the middle of a barren looking wasteland, the red hue of the sky giving it all an overbearing feel of depression. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses, hoping to find life on the planet. For a few moments he thought the planet was devoid of life, in fact if he hadn't decided to double check he might have missed the very faint lone power level located a few miles away from them.

"I can feel something!" Erasa yipped. Trunks looked at her, she had her eyes closed and was clearly sensing for power levels along with him. Trunks smiled, she was definitely getting better at it.

"We need to see what it is; it might help explain where the hell we are" they quickly left in the direction of the weak ki. In their short flight they noticed that the barren landscape was fraught with impact craters and even a few trails of fire, suggesting a battle had taken place recently. When they reached the spot of the faint ki they dropped down into the most massive crater they'd seen yet.

The person was laying face down, whoever it was, they were hurt, very hurt. There was blood still dripping from open wounds and the body was twitching. Trunks took action and used his ki to carefully levitate them and turn them around.

"What's with the weird armor he's using?" Erasa asked Trunks. After she pointed it out, Trunks clearly noticed a very familiar type of armor. Saiyan armor. That discovery was eclipsed by the face he saw when he turned the man over.

It was Goku, the spitting image of Goku except he had a scouter and, upon further inspection, a scar on his right cheek.

"W-w-what does this mean?" Trunks questioned out loud. He almost lost his concentration and dropped the body on the floor, instead he gently laid it down.

"That's Gohan's dad." Erasa said. "That little time vortex must have messed up history"

Trunks would have agreed with her hypothesis if he wasn't familiar with Goku's ki. This person felt familiar, but he did not have Goku's unique ki.

Erasa put her hand to the stranger's chest just to make sure he was alive and felt a faint heartbeat. Trunks' hand joined hers on the man's chest but Trunks wasn't feeling for a heartbeat. He transferred some of his ki into him, enough to wake him up.

The man on the floor jerked awake, turning on his front and spitting out a wad of blood. Trunks and Erasa stepped back as the saiyan got on his knees and began wheezing and coughing. The spiky haired man saw the two of them out of the corner of his eyes and did all he could to get in a defensive position while coughing his lungs out. He scrambled to stand up and managed to put his right hand up in a defensive position, his left occupied with clutching at his side.

"Hey don't worry, we won't hurt you" Erasa reassured him. The grimace on the man's face, a mix on distrust and pain, did not disappear.

"Do you even know what I am?"

"You're a saiyan. My father is a saiyan as well, if you tell us what happened we might be able to help" Trunks said.

"A half-breed eh?" the man found something funny in that. "What are you doing here? This planet was supposed to be deserted"

"How did you end up like this? Did Frieza do this?" Trunks took a wild guess and it paid off, the look on the man's face told him all he needed to know.

"His henchmen killed my crew, left me for dead. He's going to blow up planet Vegeta" Trunks and Erasa shared a wide-eyed look; they'd gone back to before the destruction of the saiyan's home planet!

Bardock let his eyes linger on them for only a few moments more before he began making a shuffling walk towards his space pod, which Dodoria had mercifully left untouched even though it was just a few hundred yards away.

"Hey wait up!" Trunks and Erasa jogged up to him. Trunks, seeing the saiyan's obvious struggle at even the smallest movement, tried to put the man's arm around his shoulder. Bardock growled and shook Trunks off him.

"You'll leave if you know what's good for you. I may be weak but I can still deal with a half-breed like you" the older male rasped out.

Trunks rolled his eyes and, knowing how stubborn a pureblooded saiyan could be, delivered a chop to the unsuspecting Bardock's neck. He didn't realize it till much later, but it bore a striking resemblance to his sensei Gohan's last act.

"Trunks!" Erasa exclaimed at her boyfriend's action. Trunks put Bardock over his shoulder and floated up in the sky, using his sharp vision to pinpoint the location of Bardock's ship. He found it a couple hundred yards away and nodded his head in that direction. Erasa saw it and they both flew towards it.

They landed in front of the spherical attack ball. It looked very cramped, barely able to fit a single adult male, much less three people.

"It's a tight fit" Trunks stated.

"Too tight" she responded.

Trunks shot her a smile that she did not like. "I wouldn't say that until we tried babe"

The ride was uncomfortable to say the least. Erasa was sandwiched between Trunks' lap and the dead weight of one full blooded and sweaty saiyan on top of her. The only saving grace was the air-conditioned interior of the compact attack ball that only barely neutralized the unconscious saiyan's offending body odor.

Erasa winced as a bead of sweat from Bardock fell on her cheek; she turned her face even more towards the side and tried to ignore the lug of a saiyan on top of her, trying as hard as she could to clear her mind to escape the current situation.

It was a few hours before they could clearly see a red planet rapidly growing in size as they approached, the saiyan home looking harsh and unfriendly even from space. Over the curvature of the planet, orbiting the planet like a satellite, a ship Trunks was more than familiar with. He could sense the pure evil emanating from the ship, but that didn't really worry him. What worried him was the evil emanating from the planet itself, an evil he understood but didn't want to acknowledge.

It was at the last moment before they entered the planet's atmosphere that Trunks thought about lowering his power signature, making sure to not excite any scouters before he thought of a plan of action. Truth be told he knew there was really only one plan, this timeline was already fucked the moment he and Erasa entered it and letting Frieza kill the saiyans would not change that, for all he knew their inception into the timeline would cause all kinds of bad things for the universe. He admitted that letting what amounted to billions of murderous pirates live wasn't exactly the safest option but he could at least hope to control the saiyans, especially with the super saiyan card. Besides, he had enough left over pride from his father that he simply couldn't sit by and watch his people die. Beyond that, finding a way to get back home seemed almost impossible unless they found a way to reach the dragon balls.

They could see out the window, the pod was about to crash into a cushioned landing pad. Erasa and Trunks braced themselves for impact regardless, the pod sunk into a sudden stop and the alien engineering did its work as there was not shock or recoil felt from inside the pod, it took a while for Trunks and Erasa to even realize they'd landed.

"How do we open this thing?" the blonde girl asked her boyfriend. Trunks dragged his hand over the door of the pod, pretending to know what to do.

"You have no idea do you?" Erasa asked him after a long moment of Trunks awkwardly groping around the pod's door frame. The blond shook her head and decided to take the initiative for once; she wanted to get out of this cramped space once and for all. She pulled her leg back and braced herself hard, hoping the little pods weren't too durable. She kicked out with as much strength as she could muster and cracked the glass in the pod, she cocked her leg back once more but it wasn't needed as Trunks had gotten the picture and punched the pod open.

"What about him?" Erasa said as they stepped out of the pod, referring to the unconscious Bardock who Trunks had left laying in the seat.

"He'll be fine, we've got bigger fish to fry right now"


End file.
